this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the government is accused of sending confused messages about foreign travel, just as the eu is set to relax rules for british tourists. more surge testing to stop the spread of the indian variant, but the prime minister says there's no need to deviate from the covid road map. are you trying to book a holiday abroad? or do you have concerns about the opening up of foreign travel? please do get in touch — i'm on @bbcbenthompson, or use the hashtag bbcyourquestions. excavation work begins at a cafe in gloucester in the search for a suspected victim of serial killer fred west. new york's attorney general says its investigation of donald trump's organisation is now a criminal inquiry. a rise in the cost of petrol

and clothes led to a jump in the uk inflation rate last month. also coming up before 10, we're with the yorkshire police officers as they raid a cannabis factory in doncaster. travel rules for british tourists heading to europe could be relased today. it comes as borisjohnson has said that people should not be taking holidays in most european countries. eu ambassadors will today consider whether to allow visits from travellers who have been fully vaccinated against covid—19. the ambassadors are also expected to lift the current ban on nonessential travel from the uk. their meeting comes as the government here has been accused of causing

confusion with conflicting advice over its own traffic light system. meanwhile, surge testing is being stepped up in areas where there are concenns about the india variant. john donnison reports. let's face it — who isn't ready for a little bit of this? portugal — the only eu country on the green list — finally welcomed back british tourists this week. but what about the rest of europe, much of which is rated amber? the government has been accused of sending out confusing messages. the government should crack down and tell people once and for all if it's safe or not, particularly for leisure travel — so the summer holiday — and right from the very beginning, we think they should have been clear if they said that amber means stop, rather than prepare to go. that should have been clear from the beginning, and it's not, and i think people are very confused. we don't want to stop... it comes after the environment secretary, george eustice, said it was ok to travel to countries on the amber list

to see family or friends... ..only for the prime minister visiting a vaccination centre a few hours later to contradict him, saying he was clear amber countries were not places people should be going on holiday yet. the travel industry is calling for clarity. government ministers are clearly confused themselves at the moment, and that breeds through to consumers who will be confused if the government doesn't know what the message is. but, fundamentally, the prime minister has delivered on what he said he would deliver in february this year, when he announced his road map. he said that, in may, overseas travel would start. so that's to be welcomed. i think the problem is, now, we've got government infighting leading to this mixed messaging. all this as the eu is expected to sign off on a plan at their end to allow fully vaccinated britons to fly to europe without having to take a covid test or quarantine. meanwhile, surge testing is being stepped up in covid hotspots, where there are concerns

about the new indian variant. these include bolton, blackburn, bedford, and now nuneaton. for the moment, though, borisjohnson says there's no evidence to suggest the government will have to deviate from the road map to fully ease restrictions on social contact by june the 21st. but he said ministers would let people know in a few days�* time, once the data was clearer. thank you. thanks for having me. jon donnison, bbc news. let's talk to our chief political correspondent adam fleming. good morning. there could beat this progress further lifting of travel restrictions but i suppose it is far from clear how easy it will be for anybody to go abroad.— from clear how easy it will be for anybody to go abroad. there are a lot of areas _ anybody to go abroad. there are a lot of areas of _ anybody to go abroad. there are a lot of areas of difficulty _ anybody to go abroad. there are a lot of areas of difficulty for - lot of areas of difficulty for travellers. there is the practical thing of going to different countries and what the requirements

are for testing, vaccination, documentation, the sort of things the eu will try to clear up for eu member states today. then you have the fact that the uk's traffic light system is not reciprocal, so you have got the eu saying we are opening up to british travellers, only one eu country, portugal, is on the uk's green list currently. that is only one eu country that you don't have to quarantine on your return from. so that it had the layer of confusion. then there is a government message, officially, it is do not travel to amethyst country is do not travel to amethyst country is on holiday. but that has been muddied by cabinet ministers think you can go to an amber country to see yourfriends and you can go to an amber country to see your friends and family or you can go to an amber country if you thought having a foreign holiday was essential to you. and that reflects the fact that there is personal differences of approach round the cabinet table, and the fact there is

always a balance between public health and the health of the economy and also reflects the fact moving yet again, another example, from a very obvious, strong rules, stay at home, to a world where there is a system instead that relies on personal responsibility. it is much harder and more difficult to communicate. it harder and more difficult to communicate.— harder and more difficult to communicate. , , , ., ., communicate. it sells frustration about the clarity _ communicate. it sells frustration about the clarity of _ communicate. it sells frustration about the clarity of that - communicate. it sells frustration | about the clarity of that message and a lot of frustration from the travel industry that is desperate to get people back on planes and hotels and they say this does not allow people to plan in any way whatsoever.— people to plan in any way whatsoever. �* ., , ., whatsoever. and some conservative backbenchers _ whatsoever. and some conservative backbenchers have _ whatsoever. and some conservative backbenchers have been _ whatsoever. and some conservative backbenchers have been quite - whatsoever. and some conservative backbenchers have been quite vocal| backbenchers have been quite vocal in the last couple of days, one describing it as a total shambles. but remember they have constituency address as well, travel firms lobbying them, some of them have a part in their patch and this had been a constant theme from them. and borisjohnson who has to weigh up the risks and rewards and different interests from all the different

bits of the uk and the different bits of the uk and the different bits of the government. and in terms of buying up that race for the next step on the road map, a little bit of clarification from downing street this morning, yesterday when the prime minister was on that visit to the boxing centre in north london he said there will be much more clarity over the next couple of days. what he means is much more clarity in the data about how much more transmissible pic indian variant might be than the variance of the virus we have been dealing with up until now. the decision for step four of the road map in england, thatis four of the road map in england, that is not until the 14th ofjune. it is just getting much that is not until the 14th ofjune. it isjust getting much more that is not until the 14th ofjune. it is just getting much more clarity about the virus. you talk to scientists and they say it is more like a couple of weeks before we get enough clarity about the transmissibility.- enough clarity about the transmissibility. enough clarity about the transmissibili . transmissibility. good to see you thank yom _ transmissibility. good to see you thank you. adam _ transmissibility. good to see you thank you. adam fleming - transmissibility. good to see you thank you. adam fleming in - thank you. adam fleming in westminster. that is the view from westminster. that is the view from westminster. we can talk now to our europe correspondentjean mackenzie who's in brussels.

we are speaking to adam there, getting the view for what mps are calling for. this meeting gets under way today and is expected to lift some rules, but we have to remember thatis some rules, but we have to remember that is just half of the story. what happens in europe doesn't necessarily affect the rules in the uk. {it necessarily affect the rules in the uk. . ., , ., ., ., necessarily affect the rules in the uk. of course, the two have to work in tandem. — uk. of course, the two have to work in tandem. but— uk. of course, the two have to work in tandem, but what _ uk. of course, the two have to work in tandem, but what we _ uk. of course, the two have to work in tandem, but what we are - uk. of course, the two have to work. in tandem, but what we are expecting here in brussels today is for eu ambassadors to make two decisions. the first decision is about whether to put the uk onto its equivalent green list. this would end the ban on nonessential travel to the eu as a whole. essentially, it would mean holidays here from an eu perspective were allowed again. then you had a second decision about what to do about people who had been fully vaccinated. should fully vaccinated people be able to come to europe this summer without any restrictions? without needing to have a test or needing to quarantine. these things are going

to be discussed. we might get a decision on one, both or neither. when we saw what happened with portugal as far as lifting those restrictions for british travellers being able to go, there was some concern about the eu not acting collectively, that they didn't have a coordinated approach. this is some attempt to have a collective view on what those restrictions should be right across the block. absolutely. this is an attempt _ right across the block. absolutely. this is an attempt to _ right across the block. absolutely. this is an attempt to have - right across the block. absolutely. this is an attempt to have one - right across the block. absolutely. this is an attempt to have one set| this is an attempt to have one set of rules applied to the whole of the eu because countries have been making their own individual decisions. some countries have been frustrated that this eu position is taking so long to come to particularly around the idea of the vaccine passport that they have decided to make their own rules. so portugal, greece, italy have already said british travellers can come back and have dropped quarantine restrictions. spain wants to allow to race back from next month,

regardless of what is decided at an eu level. so good regardless of what is decided he today, it is still up to the individual countries to make their own rules and even if we do see some of these restrictions relax, you could still see discrepancies in how these individual countries choose to implement them. some countries may choose to be a little bit more conservative, even if the rules are relaxed and they could still ask for quarantine and tests. so this isn't necessarily going to provide us with a clean picture. necessarily going to provide us with a clean picture-— a clean picture. yes, we will wait and see what _ a clean picture. yes, we will wait and see what happens _ a clean picture. yes, we will wait and see what happens has - a clean picture. yes, we will wait and see what happens has far . a clean picture. yes, we will wait and see what happens has far as| a clean picture. yes, we will wait - and see what happens has far as that meeting is concerned. thank you. i know he will stay on that story for us. sergio frau is from tourist information centre visit benidorm. good morning. we were talking to our correspondence about some of the changes that could be on the way if that meeting later today gives the green light for trouble. give me a sense from where you are and talk to

me about the importance of those rows being lifted and allowing to race back into benidorm. i am here in benidorm- _ race back into benidorm. i am here in benidorm. we _ race back into benidorm. i am here in benidorm. we are _ race back into benidorm. i am here in benidorm. we are a _ race back into benidorm. i am here in benidorm. we are a bit - in benidorm. we are a bit disappointed now about the decision because we considered that we deserve not to be green —— we deserve not to be green —— we deserve to be green. the numbers are good right now. 21 cases in 100,000 inhabitants. also in the region of valencia we are having around 29 cases. this is lower than the canary islands, lower than in portugal we have done homework and we considered that we deserve to be green, because we need to have the british back here. i

we need to have the british back here. ., ., ., ., ., here. i wanted to ask, there are a lot of concerns _ here. i wanted to ask, there are a lot of concerns that _ here. i wanted to ask, there are a lot of concerns that people - here. i wanted to ask, there are a lot of concerns that people will i lot of concerns that people will have about travelling. they are worried about safety on the plane, on the couch, when they get to the hotel, on the beach, at breakfast. what changes have you put into place to allow you to welcome people back safely? to allow you to welcome people back safel ? ., ~' to allow you to welcome people back safel ? ., ~ ., , to allow you to welcome people back safel ? ., ~ .,, , to allow you to welcome people back safel ? ., ~ ., , , ., ., safely? the work has been amazing. since the beginning _ safely? the work has been amazing. since the beginning of— safely? the work has been amazing. since the beginning of the _ safely? the work has been amazing. since the beginning of the pandemicj since the beginning of the pandemic we have been working really hard to offer guarantees of safety. i had two journalists from the uk... they said to me they felt much more safer in benidorm than in london, and that is totally true. we have done special things to allow people to have good distance from each other,

a lot of individual plots on the beaches. we have implemented measures in the hotels and travel companies. everyone is very conscious about security and i'm very proud of the work that we have done. i very proud of the work that we have done. , , ., ,, ., very proud of the work that we have done. , i. ,, ., �* done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm crateful done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm grateful for _ done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm grateful for your— done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm grateful for your time. _ done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm grateful for your time. a - done. iwish you well, sergio. i'm grateful for your time. a few - gratefulfor your time. a few difficulties with your line, but we got the gist of what you were explaining. thank you for speaking to us, who is from this it benidorm, awaiting those results from the eu and passages that meet to potentially meet the restrictions for many more countries across mainland europe. at 11:30, we'll be answering your questions on international travel. we'll be putting them to travel industry experts, so send in your questions using the hashtag bbc your questions or by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. and if you want to get in touch with your experiences

of trying to book a holiday — or your concerns about opening up travel — i'm @bbcbenthompson or use the hashtag bbcyourquestions — we can hopefully get them on air during the programme. a decision on whether final lockdown restrictions will be lifted this in england onjune the 21st remains in the balance, because of concerns over the spread of the indian variant. latest figures show there were more than 2,300 confirmed cases of the new strain in at least 86 local authorities across the uk. bolton, where the outbreak is most severe, has seen cases double in the last week. most, though not all, are of the indian variant. as we've been reporting, surge testing is under way there, as well as in other hotspots, including bedford and glasgow. nuneaton is the latest area where extra testing is being deployed. where that leaves the full unlocking of restrictions is still under review, with a decision expected within days.

well, to discuss the situation in one of the affected areas, we can speak now to labour councillor louise jackson. she is bedford council's lead on health and wellbeing. what can you tell us about the situation in bedford right now? we touched on some of those hotspots. we touched on some of those hot5pots-_ we touched on some of those hotsots. �* ., , ., ., . hotspots. bedford is one of them. we have had quite _ hotspots. bedford is one of them. we have had quite a _ hotspots. bedford is one of them. we have had quite a worrying _ hotspots. bedford is one of them. we have had quite a worrying situation i have had quite a worrying situation developing in bedford for a while. we are the second highest in the country for infections and we are doing everything we can to try and get on top of this. we have been giving targeted testing up until now, so we had a very good handle on where the infections were occurring. in closed settings, schools. we need to widen our net so the search testing is very welcome and that will be taking place in the coming days and weeks. you will be taking place in the coming days and weeks.— will be taking place in the coming days and weeks. you touched on that suru e days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing- _ days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing- i _ days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing. i wonder— days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing. i wonder what - days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing. i wonder what else - days and weeks. you touched on that surge testing. i wonder what else is i surge testing. i wonder what else is being done to tackle any local outbreaks. it was a sense of what people have to do, whether testing

is taking place and how you hope to keep a lid on it. we is taking place and how you hope to keep a lid on it.— keep a lid on it. we will be confirming _ keep a lid on it. we will be confirming the _ keep a lid on it. we will be confirming the locations i keep a lid on it. we will be - confirming the locations shortly. anybody who is contacted, i would urge them to participate and they will be told what they need to do, and we have been communicating with affected communities so they know where they can go and how they can participate in the testing programme. in terms of the other things we're doing, we are stepping up things we're doing, we are stepping up our efforts in terms of vaccinations. we have drop—in vaccine sessions, but those eligible cohorts... we should have better availability and more pfizer vaccine to take it out into the communities and groups who will need to have that type of vaccine. so things are really ramping up quite quickly in bedford. i think it would have been better if they have been some recognition that areas like bedford were also being impacted earlier. we

were also being impacted earlier. we were adhering... i'm glad the government have now recognised we have a problem here and it is not merely confined to the north—west. 0ur merely confined to the north—west. our local partners are doing everything they can to get this under control.— everything they can to get this under control. when you said you identified the _ under control. when you said you identified the problem _ under control. when you said you identified the problem earlier - under control. when you said you | identified the problem earlier and you felt that you should have had a little bit more help earlier, what are we talking here?— little bit more help earlier, what are we talking here? days? weeks? i think some of — are we talking here? days? weeks? i think some of the _ are we talking here? days? weeks? i think some of the information - are we talking here? days? weeks? i think some of the information about | think some of the information about the variant came through to our team is a little later than it could have done. it was a full 2a hours after the information appeared on a twitter feed that filtered down to our local team, although we were aware of it, but we were working already and already have a good relationship with our schools where those outbreaks initially started to crop up, so we were working very closely with them and unable to get on top of things. i do think that the government perhaps tried to characterise this as a north—west issue and perhaps that fitted the

narrative as we were trying to unlock. whether that was sensible, i'm not sure. but it is clearly much more widespread. we have seen this in 86 local authority areas. as sequencing brings back my results, we will find out it is even more widespread than that.- we will find out it is even more widespread than that. thank you for our time widespread than that. thank you for your time and _ widespread than that. thank you for your time and we _ widespread than that. thank you for your time and we wish _ widespread than that. thank you for your time and we wish you - widespread than that. thank you for your time and we wish you well - widespread than that. thank you for your time and we wish you well with the roll—out of the search testing. thanks for your time. and the health secretary matt hancock will be holding a downing street coronavirus briefing at 5pm today. we'll bring that to you live on the bbc news channel. the uk government failed to plan sufficiently for a threat on the scale of the pandemic, according to the spending watchdog. the national audit office has also urged ministers to come up with ideas to prevent "widening" inequality caused by the virus. the government says it's been guided by the data and that it has acted "quickly and decisively" throughout.

the official rate of inflation — that measures how quickly prices are rising — more than doubled in april as energy costs soared and clothing retailers increased prices. the office for national statistics said the consumer price indexjumped from 0.7% in march to 1.5% in april. it is the highest level since march last year. the bank of england has already forecast that inflation will eventually push above its 2% target by the end of the year, but says the spike is likely to be temporary as the economy stabilises after the pandemic. forensic teams have arrived at a cafe in gloucester, where excavations are beginning in the search for a suspected victim of the serial killer, fred west. 15—year—old mary bastholm worked at the clean plate cafe before she went missing in 1968. mary's parents died without finding out what happened to their daughter. 0ur correspondent andrew plant is in gloucesterfor us. good morning. bring us up to date with what is happening at that site

right behind you.— right behind you. after a week of initial searches _ right behind you. after a week of initial searches at _ right behind you. after a week of initial searches at this _ right behind you. after a week of initial searches at this cafe - right behind you. after a week of initial searches at this cafe right| initial searches at this cafe right initial searches at this cafe right in the heart of gloucester here, police said they will start excavation work in this today. we had yesterday they are focusing on three new pieces of evidence. number one is a piece of blue cloth which was photographed here by documentary team who were making a film about the crimes of fred and rose west. they were in the cellar and use a camera to photograph some blue cloth in the corner of the cellar. the second is what they called structural anomalies in the cellar. some voids in the floor and wall that they want to investigate. the third thing but a drug trained to sniff out human remains that they took down into the cellar a few days ago and police said they had a reaction. so those are the things

they will begin to investigate during those initial excavations today. but they have kept in touch with mary's family throughout this process. they said that they can't guarantee that they will find mary down there, but they will one way or another and so the question of whether or not he was buried in the cellar of the cafe after she disappeared back in 1968. she was last seen not far from where we're standing now in a very cold january night back in 1968. she was 15 years old, she had her monopoly body in a carrier bag and was at a bus stop waiting to go and see her boyfriend and that was a very last time she was seen anywhere at all. there was a massive police operation at the time to try to discover what had happened to. but there was absolutely no trace. at that point you have to fast forward about 20 years to when the crimes of fred and rose west began to be uncovered and at that point really people started to put two and two together and wonder whether or not fred west may have been behind mary's disappearance. he was a regular customer at this cafe which has been

here for decades under one name or another and when mary disappeared she was working as a in this cafe here in the centre of gloucester. so please today think they. those excavations but it won't be a quick process. it is underground and a fairly confined space, but they say they will start that by bringing forensic archaeologists on site. of course, for mary's surviving, it is now a chance to finally perhaps discover what happened to her more than five decades after she disappeared.— than five decades after she disa eared. ~ , , ., ,, than five decades after she disaueared. , . ~' disappeared. absolutely. thank you very much- — air raids and rocket attacks have continued overnight in the conflict between israelis and palestinians. two palestinian militants were killed and two israeli soldiers were injured in the latest violence, according to officials on both sides. the un says about 50,000 palestinians in gaza

have been displaced so far. french calls for a un security council resolution to help end the conflict have been dismissed by america, as mark lobel reports. more israeli air strikes, more militants killed in gaza for a tenth day. a palestinian rocket intercepted by israel's air defences. after an earlier strike in southern israel killed two foreign farm workers. so continues a cycle of violence. visiting an air in southern israel, its prime minister appeared relaxed, saying hamas has been set back by many years. translation: we will continue as necessary to restore peace . to all israeli citizens. but things are not getting more peaceful.

last seen 16 years ago, the martyrs brigade, armed palestinians, rear their heads in the occupied west bank. injericho, arab protesters are met with rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas. also feeling the heat from all this is america, who despite voicing its support for a ceasefire, has so far blocked united nations backed efforts to end hostilities. where should the poor go? where should the weak go? isn't the un the house of all people? france now wants the un's powerful security council, which includes america, to vote for a ceasefire and greater humanitarian access in gaza. but... the us view has been for many years been. that the security council is not the place to resolve issues between non—state actorsl

like hamas and israel. i think the us is going to veto it, but it will be part of this growing sense that the us will support, that we have to begin - winding this up. i think, within days. with all eyes on gaza, whichever way the us proceeds, its push for peace here unilaterally or inside the un, it is now under sustained political pressure, both at home and abroad to do so fast. the state attorney general�*s office in new york has said its investigation into donald trump's business — the trump organisation — is now a criminal probe and not purely a civil matter. the company has been under investigation for over two years by the manhattan district attorney. we can speak now to laura podesta of cbs news, who is outside trump tower in new york. good morning. very early in the united states. give us a background

to this investigation. what has been happening so far in those two years? there are two pending investigations right now. one by the new york attorney general office and the other by the district eternity mac attorney in manhattan and now they are both criminal investigations. —— district attorney. it means i could go to trial if this investigation needs to proceed in that way. you're looking into the pre—presidential business dealings of president trump and people within his organisation, that trump organisation, and whether president trump manipulated the value of assets such as trump tower right behind me here, potentially inflaming the price of this property inflaming the price of this property in order to secure bank loans or deflating it in order to get a tax break —— inflating it. deflating it in order to get a tax break -- inflating it.— deflating it in order to get a tax break -- inflating it. explain the

significance _ break -- inflating it. explain the significance if _ break -- inflating it. explain the significance if you _ break -- inflating it. explain the significance if you will _ break -- inflating it. explain the significance if you will of - break -- inflating it. explain the significance if you will of this - significance if you will of this investigation moving from being a civil matter to a criminal investigation. aha, civil matter to a criminal investigation.— civil matter to a criminal investigation. civil matter to a criminal investiuation. �* . ., ., investigation. a civil matter would be the plaintiff — investigation. a civil matter would be the plaintiff trying _ investigation. a civil matter would be the plaintiff trying to _ investigation. a civil matter would be the plaintiff trying to recoup i be the plaintiff trying to recoup some sort of monetary amount from the defendant. and a civil trial doesn't necessarily mean that there was a problem to society as a whole. in the meantime, a criminal trial could potentially result in a much harsher penalty than just paying a sum. it could result in present time, for example.— sum. it could result in present time, for example. therefore, that leads me to _ time, for example. therefore, that leads me to my — time, for example. therefore, that leads me to my next _ time, for example. therefore, that leads me to my next question, i time, for example. therefore, thatl leads me to my next question, what are the implications for president trump? depending of course on the outcome of this investigation. aha, outcome of this investigation. really good question and one we want the answer to but it will depend if

it is... if they can link to various crime such as tax fraud and insurance fraud or if someone else will get the blame, such as an accountant within the trump organisation. it will be about going through records, e—mails, phone calls, perhaps there are recordings, in order to tie president trump and whether it was pre—presidential. pre—presidential trump and these crimes. it pre-presidential trump and these crimes. , ., .,~ pre-presidential trump and these crimes. , ., ., ,, ., crimes. it is good to talk to you. thank you- _ crimes. it is good to talk to you. thank you. cbs _ crimes. it is good to talk to you. thank you. cbs correspondent i crimes. it is good to talk to you. | thank you. cbs correspondent in crimes. it is good to talk to you. i thank you. cbs correspondent in new york outside trump towers. now it's time for a look at the weather, with matt taylor. hello. overall it may be a story of sunshine and showers today, but actually for more of you today will be dry, particularly across parts of western england and wales. very few showers in the forecast today. same for south—west scotland. northern ireland, showers will come and go, but the heaviest

of the afternoon showers central south—eastern scotland down through eastern counties of england. rumbles of thunder, some hail mixed in and the odd torrential downpour. but with more of you dry, it will be a touch warmer. 15 to 17 degrees are the highs for quite a few of you. it will turn cooler this evening and overnight, particularly across eastern areas. the showers will fade. temperatures down to lower single figures here, but signs of a change. this is what we have to watch out for to see the week out. into thursday morning, some increasingly wet and also increasingly windy weather spreading. and the wettest of the morning conditions will be across northern ireland, north wales and then into north—west scotland, north—west england and southern scotland. gales developing across many western areas. most of us will see rain at some point. not too much across the south, but those strong winds, heavy rains will continue as we go into friday.

hello, this is bbc news with ben thompson. the headlines... the government's accused of sending confused messages about foreign travel — just as the eu is set to relax rules for british tourists. more surge testing to stop the spread of the indian variant, but the prime minister says there's no need to deviate from the covid road map. excavation work begins at a cafe in gloucester in the search for a suspected victim of serial killer fred west. new york's attorney general says its investigation of donald trump's organisation is now a criminal inquiry. a rise in the cost of petrol and clothes led to a jump in the uk inflation rate last month.

sport now and, for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sally nugent. departing crystal palace manager roy hodgson says having supporters back for his final match in charge at selhurst park tonight will be a special way to say goodbye. hodgson announced yesterday that he'll step down as palace manager at the end of the season, which comes on sunday — with tonight's game against arsenal his final home match. crystal his final home match. palace fans and supporters are crystal palace fans and supporters are very, very important to the club and everyone knows that.— and everyone knows that. they've been very good — and everyone knows that. they've been very good supporting - and everyone knows that. they've been very good supporting me i and everyone knows that. they'vel been very good supporting me and and everyone knows that. they've i been very good supporting me and the team during these last four years and just really to get the results that we needed to stay in the league, so welcoming them back tonight, albeit in smaller numbers, it is a big day, a big night for us and i'm looking forward to seeing them of course but there is no doubt that to some extent it will be a

bittersweet occasion, because goodbyes are never easy to do, if you like and, certainly for me, i'm much more of a hello than a goodbye person. up and down the country last night, supporters returned to premier league stadiums, some for the first time in 1a months, as coronavirus restictions are eased. more from our sports correspondent katy gornall. this time, the soundtrack would be real. across the country, premier league fans were heading back to the turnstiles in their thousands. so looking forward to getting back, having the atmosphere of the crowd, it's completely different watching on the tv. it's like religion, isn't it? you've got to come to church here every two weeks. it's not the same on the telly and it'sjust... hopefully we are here to stay this time. i can't wait to see _ manchester united because it's been a very long time since i came because of covid. _ at old trafford, manchester united supporters were behind their team but against their owners.

it had been 1a months since these fans had seen a goal here. edinson cavani made sure it was worth the wait. a moment ofjoy that had to be shared. fulham are already down but they are going down fighting. joe bryan's equaliser made it a frustrating night for united ahead of their europa league final. but there was one big positive. i know we're not where we to be in the league. but hopefully we can bring a trophy back in about ten days' time. so we will do whatever we can and, hopefully, next year, we can see everyone on their seats again. so, all the best from the team and a safe trip back home. at a lively st mary's patrick bamford helped leeds on their way to a 2—0 win in front of 8000 southampton fans. win or lose, they wouldn't have missed it. meanwhile, along the coast at brighton, there was plenty to keep home fans entertained. manchester city were one goal up and one man down inside ten minutes before phil foden,

with his usual swagger produced a moment of individual brilliance. that was 2—0 and that could have been game over. but, inspired by the crowd, brighton roared back. with14 minutes left, dan burn made it 3—2 to spark chaos in the stands. what a welcome back. but the game with the most riding on it was at stamford bridge where chelsea, beaten by leicester in the fa cup final at the weekend, attempted a measure of revenge. antonio rudiger got them up and running before timo werner was stopped in his tracks. that meant a chelsea penalty whichjorginho cooly stroked home. leicester would pull a goal back but it wasn't enough. as frustrations boiled over, chelsea held on for a huge win in the race for champions league football. for supporters, this was a night of raw emotion, but whatever the feelings at full—time it was so good to be back. katy gornall, bbc news. there have been more gold medals

for britain's swimmers at the european championships in budapest. adam peaty won a fourth consecutive european 100 metre breaststroke title, james wilby took bronze. there was also gold for the mixed 4 x 200m freestyle relay team. as for peaty, he says with the tokyo olympics approaching, he's getting better and better. that's all the sport for now. we are just going to take you now to a house fo commons committee hearing, it's the transport committee of mps and they are discussing the roll—out and the safety of smart motorways you and the safety of smart motorways may know, smé the you may know, smart motorways are the ones that don't use any hard shoulder. they are already in place in large parts of the 20 in kent, the m 23 in sussex. the government is looking to roll that out to others but there are concerns about the safety of those motorways. evidence will be heard today from

the president of the aa, i believe thatis the president of the aa, i believe that is who is speaking right now, heads up the roads policy at the rac and the chief constable of west midlands police, so lots of controversy. there is a proposal to open up motorways to expand their capacity without the cost of taking out further lanes, but this proposal, in many respects, has met with criticism from people concerned about the safety of not having anywhere to be safe at the side of the road if you are involved in an accident. we will stay right across that for you a little later. police in south yorkshire say they ve been finding an increasing number of cannabis factories in houses and empty businesses over the past year. in parts of doncaster, some criminals have been tapping into electricity supplies and causing power cuts to local homes. police say these cannabis factories are often linked to serious organised crime and modern slavery. emma glasbey was given exclusive access to a police operation in doncaster.

once a bingo hall, now the centre of a police operation. south yorkshire police suspect a cannabis factory has been set up inside this site in mexborough. police! they're looking for drugs and people. police with a warrant! inside, there is a major cannabis operation. police with a warrant! it's still early stages in the investigation, was still trying to work out how big the setup is, it's a bit of amazing ——we're still trying to work out how big the setup is, it's a bit of a maze there, but we are talking potentially between 501,000 plants between 500 and 1,000 plants

set up in there, so just as a rough estimate, a mature cannabis plant, street value can be sort of 800 to £1000, so top end, if there are a thousand plants in there, then there could be approximately £1 million worth of drugs sold on the street. there is also evidence people have been living here. cannabis plants have been found inside, but officers will now spend some time searching through the building. they are going from room to room, checking to see if anyone is hiding inside. police soon arrest two men on suspicion of drug offences. this operation is the result of good old—fashioned police work. local neighbourhood officers spotted the road had been dug up, potentially to tap into the mains electricity supply, and there were suspicious changes to the building. but this is notjust about cannabis. there's a common conception among certain parts of the community that cannabis is a low level, less harmful drug, but what sits behind it are things like this, a set up that potentially lines the pockets of organised criminals to the tune of billions of pounds. to the tune of millions of pounds. there is almost always exploitation, modern slavery, and that's the thing

that the general public and local communities don't necessarily see. police say there's been a big increase in these cannabis factories in south yorkshire in the past year and it can cause huge disruption to local people. across doncaster and various communities, we are seeing power outages for residential properties as a result of the electricity that's being abstracted to power these big setups. it's believed this factory was set up fairly recently. a big investment by criminals now disrupted by police. emma glasbey, bbc news, doncaster. france is taking a big step towards lifting its lockdown today, with the opening of bar and restaurant terraces, shops and cultural spaces. some experts still worry that this longed—for breath of fresh air could carry with it a new wave of the virus. but the government has met its target of vaccinating 20 million people by mid—may, and the infection rate is falling. sara monetta reports.

after a long winter lockdown, france is dusting off, it is time to reopen. paintings are hung once again in the musee d'orsay ready to welcome back visitors. this man's restaurant has been closed for six months but now his customers can return to enjoy meals on the terrace, with an evening curfew pushed back from 6pm to 9pm, and the excitement is palpable. translation: my cellphone has not stopped ringing. _ i have a lot of regular customers who are very nice and were the first ones to make reservations. they were impatient, like us, to come back to this establishment and to our terraces. theatres and cinemas are also fully booked. to maintain social distancing, they can only fill one—third of the seats, so some are now scheduling matinee sessions, starting as early as 8:00am. over the past few months,

france has been through a worrying new wave of infections but now the worst seems to be over. translation: i really hope we will not experience i a lockdown like the one we have just lived through in the last six months. it was just unbearable. with covid cases decreasing and the vaccine gathering pace, despite a few initial hiccups, the joie de vivre is finally coming back to france. sara monetta, bbc news. and residents of two tower blocks in a west german town have been quarantined after a woman in the building tested positive for the indian variant of covid—19. public health officials say all residents have now been tested for the coronavirus but say that sequencing the samples to establish if they too had the indian variant would take several days. spain says it has returned half of the 8,000 migrants who crossed into the spanish territory of ceuta from morocco this week. moroccan guards are reported to have

begun closing the border again after they were accused of turning a blind eye to the crossings. some migrants have also returned voluntarily. the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez vowed to restore order during a visit to ceuta. our correspondent nick beake has more from ceuta. that is morocco and it's from that country that those 8,000 people began their very short journey on monday into tuesday. the latest we hear from spanish authorities is that about half the arrivals have since been pushed back to morocco. children, we are told, are being allowed to stay. overnight, relatively quiet. as far as we can see and hear, there weren't any more crossings across that border, and the reason for that is there are now 1,500 members of spanish security forces and you see them on the streets last night, and more low—profile presence today, but, certainly, on the streets, we see many hundreds of mainly young men who made thatjourney. i think the big question

is what happens to them, because we know they haven't got work, they haven't got anywhere to stay. many have been asking for food, so this is a crisis that isn't resolved yet but it's not going to be sold in a matter of hours or days. the family of a private investigator murdered in south london more than 30 years ago has described the decision to delay a long—awaited report into his killing as "an outrage". an independent panel has been looking into the murder of daniel morgan in south london in 1987 — and the role played by police corruption in the failure to find his killers. the panel planned to release its report next monday, but now the home office has said it needs to review it first, citing concerns about the human rights act and national security. the department said this wasn t about the independence of the report, and it was not seeking to make edits to it. our correspondent sanchia berg joins me now. just remind us about the background,

dating back to 1987.— dating back to 1987. that's right, 34 ears dating back to 1987. that's right, 34 years ago. — dating back to 1987. that's right, 34 years ago, daniel— dating back to 1987. that's right, 34 years ago, daniel morgan, i dating back to 1987. that's right, 34 years ago, daniel morgan, a i 34 years ago, daniel morgan, a private investigator, was found dead in a south london car park with an axe in his head. the first police investigation, the met later admitted, was tainted with corruption, no one was charged. four more investigations followed, a trial that had to be aborted and in 2013, the family, who were keeping on campaigning to find out who killed daniel morgan and why there was no successful prosecution, the family were really pleased when theresa may, the home secretary, set “p theresa may, the home secretary, set up this panel inquiry and its remit was, as you say, to look into corruption and the part it played in the case, the involvement of police officers and the role played by the failure to confront that corruption over the years. this failure to confront that corruption over the years-— over the years. as we said in the introduction. _ over the years. as we said in the introduction, this _ over the years. as we said in the introduction, this report, - over the years. as we said in the introduction, this report, we i over the years. as we said in the introduction, this report, we are| introduction, this report, we are told is ready, so why the delay? the home office — told is ready, so why the delay? iie: home office said told is ready, so why the delay? "iie: home office said it told is ready, so why the delay? iie: home office said it had told is ready, so why the delay? i““ie: home office said it had called told is ready, so why the delay? iie: home office said it had called in the report, it would be reviewing

the report, it would be reviewing the report, it would be reviewing the report, because it had concerns about whether it was in compliance with the human rights act and also whether there by this national security concerns, but the panel said that it had addressed any potential concerns about nature through certain processes, panel put out a statement last night which made it clear they are pretty unhappy with what has been done and that they don't believe that it is consistent with the independence of the panel, which, of course, is crucial, because the family have campaigned for years and years and years to get this independent review. they have tried many times to interest the home office in their case and failed.— case and failed. thank you for brinuain case and failed. thank you for bringing us — case and failed. thank you for bringing us up _ case and failed. thank you for bringing us up to _ case and failed. thank you for bringing us up to date. - an investigation by the bbc�*s panorama programme has found serious patient safety issues are being buried in confidential hospital reports. although the findings of hospital reviews are meant to be published and shared with regulators, the programme found this isn't happening in the majority of cases. there are now calls to change the law.

dr faye kirkland, who is a working gp, has the story. three and a half years ago, sarah and tom were looking forward to the future. i had a textbook pregnancy. we were obviously excited, we were going to be bringing our baby home. in november 2017, sarah and tom were at the queen elizabeth the queen mother hospital in margate in the early stages of sarah's labour. i was there for quite a long time and my labour wasn't progressing so they said i would be moved to the high—risk labour ward. two junior doctors were left in charge and, with the consultant at home, it was agreed they should carry out an emergency caesa rean section. you could feel the change and everybody started to panic. there was a lot of people shouting. all of a sudden, it just was very stressful and not a nice environment to be in. when the consultant did eventually arrive, she was too late. sarah's baby, harry, wasn't breathing, and needed urgent resuscitation. i didn't know whether i'd see

either of them again. you just think you might be walking out on your own. tom and sarah were told that harry would have a very limited quality of life, would never be able to learn or feed himself. after a lot of soul—searching and advice, it was decided to turn off his life support machine. the hospital initially wouldn't report harry's death to coroner. the family feared a cover—up and set about doing their own research into why he died. derek found a reference to a royal college report into the hospital's maternity unit written two years before harry's death, but it hadn't been published. he got hold of the report after a freedom of information request. it highlighted the very failings that had gone wrong in harry's care. i was absolutely stunned because even the introduction goes into only about ten lines that could have written about harry's demise. it tells you about consultants not turning up overnight, it tells you about a lack of escalation. not only had the public not seen it

but derek discovered the regulator, which is meant to ensure hospitals in england are safe, hadn't either. they were was shocked. they were shocked. genuinely shocked. how can you regulate something as important as a hospital without knowing at least what the extreme risks are? the east kent hospitals trust says it is deeply sorry that it failed the family and apologised unreservedly to other families for the things that could have been done differently. it says it used the royal college's findings... ..reporting the findings and progress to the regulators. and it continues to make improvements to its maternity service. bbc panorama wanted to find out how many of these reports were out there. we sent our own freedom of information request to all uk nhs hospitals asking for any review in the last five years. in response, we were told about 111 reports across 69 trusts. only 16 reports had been made

public, only 26 had been shared in full with the regulator. dr bill kirkup has investigated major nhs scandals and in 2015 he introduced recommendations around royal college reviews. he proposed reports should be made in full with the regulator and summaries made public. but his recommendations haven't been made law. we shared with him panorama's findings. i think it is a great disappointment to me. and i think that it is a shame that the two relevant recommendations were not taken more seriously. i think we may need to consider making this a legal duty of trusts that they have to disclose when these investigations you have been done. nhs england told us... the health regulator

in england said... there should be a harry's law that says all invited reviews must be published to the regulator. i hope this change happens in harry's name. we've been through so much. we have to get change because this can't happen again. faye kirkland, bbc news. and you'll be able to watch panorama: hospital secrets uncovered, presented by faye kirkland, on bbc one at 7.30 this evening and later on the bbc iplayer. urgent action needs to be taken to make electric cars more affordable, if the government is to hit its 2030 target for banning the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars. that's according to a group of mps.

the public accounts committee says ministers have a mountain to climb if they want to achieve the ambitious target. are here's our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt. sales of electric vehicles are by far the fastest growing segment of the car market, but they still only account for 11% of new car registrations. getting to 100% will be tough, mps warn today. the government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 with hybrids prohibited from 2035. motorists won't be ready to make that change, say the mps on the public accounts committee, unless the price of electric vehicles is reduced significantly and charging infrastructure is installed much more quickly. as well as cars themselves being expensive, only a handful being under £30,000, there is the cost of charging them. while electric charging is cheaper than petrol and diesel, there is a big difference between charging in public places

and charging on your driveway, and lots of people don't have space to charge their vehicles at home, so the infrastructure and the cost of that has got to be thought about as well, and we are concerned the government is behind the curve if it is going to hit its target. the public accounts committee says the government needs to do more to develop the skilled workforce and electric power infrastructure needed to support the transition. but the government told the bbc today it was on track to meet its target and says it is investing £2.8 billion to help the car industry and drivers make the switch to electric. justin rowlatt, bbc news. it's the world's biggest music event, and last night saw the return of the eurovision song contest — albeit it in a slightly scaled back form. fans needed a ticket and a negative covid test to get in, and performers were put into "delegation bubbles". anna holligan was there.

waterloo by abba plays over speakers. an iconic eurovision anthem pumps out of the traffic lights, providing fans with a soundtrack for their long—anticipated arrival at the ahoy arena. i heard it and i saw it on television. and i said, "i'm going to rotterdam." whatever happens, i'm going. yeah, i think this is much safer than sitting on a terrace in the town. i think so. because everyone is tested. baby's first concert, actually. well, we thought we might go and go all in. _ it's a once—in—a—lifetime exuerience _ for her, as well, i guess. 3,500 people are allowed into watch each of the live shows. 3,500 people are allowed in to watch each of the live shows. there are nine of them in total. a ticket and a negative covid test are essential. the glitter, optional. it's just nice to be in front of a crowd again. the vibe is brilliant, having been in lockdown like everybody for so long. so it's just such a great buzz. it really is. how did it go? everything went crazy, and,

yeah, it was really good. we are extremely happy to be here, yes. so, lithuania there, just coming off stage, and here we have ireland's lesley about to go on. this is what fans are so excited about. finally, the chance to see live music again, and everyone who has got a ticket for this year had one for last, too, but that was cancelled because of covid. so the usual eurovision fever has been heightened because all of these people have been waiting so long for this moment. while people are excited, there are concerns, too. two delegations have recorded positive tests since reaching rotterdam. i haven't been outside, actually, in a week! um, but, yeah, right? we're still dealing, and it's a very real threat to everyone's health still. # i'm breaking the rules! the organisers and dutch

government are adamant eurovision is being conducted in the safest possible way in the context of a pandemic. you test when you leave, you test when you arrive, then you test when you get in here, and then you pretty much stay at the hotel, within your delegation, and you come here to do your work. over the course of this week, more than 31,000 spectators will have the chance to witness what everyone here hopes will provide a model for the global revival of live events. anna holligan, bbc news, rotterdam. mall from anna at eurovision as the weeks go on. amazon has extended indefinitely a ban on the use of its facial recognition software by law enforcement agencies. the firm first announced a year—long moratorium lastjune at the height of protests in the united states sparked by the police killing of george floyd.

we have been asking you for your comments, thoughts and concerns about potentially getting away on holiday this summer, keep your messages coming in. this one, i am a uk resident, can i travel to spain with an eu passport? still lots of dirt, it depends on the restrictions in spain, we are expecting them to re—reviewed later today when it eu ambassadors expect to come up with a series of rules that will be applicable across the bloc. portugal last week lifting restrictions for british travellers but the concern was it was out of step with the rest of europe even though vaccination and infection rates vary quite greatly across the european union, the mainland of europe. danny, i want to visit my dad in the united states in october, i have bothjobs but there is conflicting travel information that has stopped the

booking, any advice appreciated. i think you are in the position many travel firms are in right now, working to try and open of the uk— us travel coroner and talks continue, both countries making sure vaccination levels are high and infection rates low, hoping they can open the travel collar coroner, one of the most lucrative for the big airlines. keep your questions coming in. now it is time to look for the weather. hello. if you've recently put temporary structures on the back garden such as awnings or gazebos, now is the time to pin them down because even though many will see a bit of sunshine today, get ready for something wetter but also windier as we see out the next few days. it's this area of low pressure, an unseasonably deep area of low pressure, which will be pushing its way in for thursday and friday. ahead of it, though, we are building this little ridge of high pressure, this little bump in the isobars, which means wales and western parts of england, a much drier day than

in recent days, many will avoid the showers altogether, there will be one or two around. sunshine and showers in northern ireland but eastern scotland, eastern england may well be prone to some heavy and thundery downpours through the second half of the day. it will feel cool once again once the showers come through, but, with more of you dry, the more of you will see a pleasant day, 15—17, the high. into this evening and overnight, the showers in eastern areas will slowly fade, clear skies for a time, which will mean a cooler night than we've had of late, temperatures down into single figures more widely, lower single figures across the eastern half of the country, but notice towards the west, the breeze already picking up, cloud spilling in and already a damp start to the day in south—west england and parts of wales. and it's because of this area of low pressure which will be pushing its way from west to east slowly during thursday and, indeed, friday, bringing with it outbreaks of rain. heaviest on thursday morning in northern ireland but spreading its way northwards and eastwards, that rain on and off. some in the south won't see too much in the way of rain but it's across southern and western areas where the winds will be picking up the greatest. certainly widespread gales across the west as we go into thursday afternoon and thursday evening. temperatures, well, 12

to 14 celsius, lower than we will see today. add on the wind, it will feel rather cool out there. and, then, through thursday night into friday, that low pressure, the centre of which will gradually push its way eastwards, bringing the stronger of the winds through this period on friday towards the southern half of the country. it's where we could see some damage and disruption. don't forget, the trees are in full leaf. some of the heaviest of rain will be pushing across england and wales, a bit more showery for scotland and northern ireland with a little bit of brightness, but it's a north—easterly wind, which will make it feel cool. the winds in the south, well, west to south—westerly, which could touch 50, maybe 60 mph in the gusts. as i said, there will be some travel disruption, even a little bit of damage in places. feeling cool, particularly across the north and cooler still as we go into the weekend. still with that mixture of sunshine and showers. hopefully things look a little bit drier next week.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the uk government is accused of sending confused messages about foreign travel, just as the eu is set to relax rules for british tourists. more surge testing across the uk to stop the spread of the indian variant, but borisjohnson says there's no need to deviate from the covid road map. are you trying to book a holiday abroad? or do you have concerns about the opening up of foreign travel? please do get in touch — i'm on @bbcbenthompson or use the hashtag bbcyourquestions new york's attorney general says its investigation of donald trump's organisation is now a criminal inquiry. and violence between israel and palestinian militants in gaza continues for a tenth day,

with more air strikes and rockets overnight.